SLOVAK diplomat Peter Michalko was awarded the NATO Meritorious Service Medal for his work in the southern Serbian province of Kosovo, the TASR newswire wrote.
He was the first Slovak diplomat to receive the recognition.
Slovak Foreign Affairs Ministry state secretary Diana Štrofová presented him with the medal on September 14.
Michalko served in Kosovo with the Kosovo Force (a NATO-led international group), as deputy to the force commander's political aide between April 2006 and March 2007.
During his period of service in Priština, he completed political analyses for his senior officer.
"It was a very enriching experience, both for a diplomat and for a political and security analyst," Michalko told TASR. "In Kosovo, you can see things happen every day yourself, instead of getting only second-hand experience."
Michalko, 36, currently works at the foreign affairs ministry's department for the co-ordination of domestic issues with EU institutions.
